Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Sun Hung Kai Properties financial year 2024-2025 interim results analyst briefing, so today's briefing will have two parts. The first is the presentation by our corporate planning manager, investor relations Miriam Leung, on the results and performance of our different businesses, and it will be followed by a question and answer session, so now I would like to invite Miriam to give the presentation, so Miriam, please.
Thank you, Connie. Good afternoo n, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming and welcome to Sun Hung Kai Properties FY 2025 interim results analyst briefing. As usual, I will present an overview of the results and the performance of our businesses, followed by a Q&A section with our senior management. Let's start with the group's financial review. Please note that all figures are in Hong Kong dollars unless stated otherwise. For the six months ended 31st December 2024, the group's underlying profit amounted to about HKD 10.5 billion, which increased by 17.5% year-on- year.
The increase was primarily attributable to higher property development profit from Hong Kong, partly offset by a reduction of contribution from property rental and hotel business, including the net effect of revaluation loss of around HKD 2 billion on investment properties and fair value gains of around HKD 0.9 billion realized on sale of investment properties.
The reported profit was HKD 7.5 billion, a decrease of 17.7% year- on- year. The underlying earnings per share was up 17.5% to HKD 3.61, while reported earnings per share was down 17.7% to HKD 2.60. As for dividend, the board of directors has declared an interim dividend of HKD 0.95 per share, the same as last year. Moving on to the profit breakdown by segment, the group's property development profit increased by 22.8% to around HKD 2.5 billion, mainly due to higher revenue from property development in Hong Kong. On property rental, the group's net rental income decreased by 3.5% to around HKD 9 billion, mainly due to a 3.6% drop in net rental income from Hong Kong portfolio and a 3.9% decrease in net rental income from the mainland portfolio.
As for hotel performance, an operating profit of HKD 377 million was recorded from the group's hotel business, down from HKD 430 million in the same period last year. Profit from other businesses increased by 1% to around HKD 2.6 billion. Altogether, the group's total operating profit for the first half FY 2025 was up 0.8% to HKD 14.5 billion. On our financial position, as at the end of December 2024, the group's net debt was HKD 107.8 billion. The net gearing ratio was 17.8%, down from 18.3% as at the end of June last year. Interest coverage for the period was around five times, compared to 3.8x a year ago. The group will continue with prudent financial management.
Ongoing measures of cash flow management include strict control of construction CapEx, being highly selective in land bank replenishment, and strengthening recurring income base from property investment portfolio and non-property businesses.
We will also strive to achieve high asset turnover for property development business. The group will continue to launch new projects when ready and put unsold residential units and non-core properties on the market where appropriate. As you can see from the graph, the group's net debt already peaked in December 2023. During the period review, net finance costs dropped by 15% year- on- year. We expect the debt level to drop further in the future. The group has been increasing the use of RMB-denominated borrowings to better align its asset and liabilities denominated in RMB. As at the end of December 2024, RMB-denominated debt accounted for 23% of total borrowings. About 48% of the group's total borrowings were either fixed-rate debts or RMB-floating-rate debts. The group's debt maturity profile was also well-balanced.
With ample and secure facilities on standby and abundant liquidity, the group is one of the best-rated developers in Hong Kong, holding an A-plus rating with negative outlook from S&P and an A-1 rating with negative outlook from Moody's. Let's move on to the performance of different segments. As at the end of December 2024, the group's total land bank in Hong Kong was about 56.9 million sq ft of attributable GFA, comprising 37.6 million sq ft of completed properties and 19.3 million sq ft of properties under development. Among the completed properties, retail portfolio accounts for 33%, while offices accounted for 29% of the total. For properties under development, about 12.9 million sq ft were residential properties under development for sale. During the period under review, the group added two sites with a total GFA of about 465,000 sq ft to its land bank.
The group also added another two residential sites, totaling 595,000 sq ft of GFA after the end of the review period. Regarding land resumption, some of our lands were resumed with a compensation of about HKD 3 billion during the period. The corresponding gains have been recognized in the first half of FY 2025. The group will continue its prudent financial discipline in land bank replenishment. In January this year, the group won the tender for a site in Tai Wai with a total GFA of 194,000 sq ft. Located in a mature community with easy access to public transport and neighborhood facilities, the site will be developed into a residential development, providing mainly small and medium-sized units. In February this year, the group also acquired a harborfront site located at Tung Chung New Town Extension.
Served by the future MTR Tung Chung East Station, the site offers panoramic sea view and design flexibility. It will be developed into a residential project with a total GFA of about 400,000 sq ft. Now, let's focus on property development business in Hong Kong. For the period, the group's recognized property sale in Hong Kong increased 344% year- on- year to about HKD 16 billion, mainly derived from YOHO West Phase I, The YOHO Hub II, Silicon Hill, and Grand Jeté Phase II. Development profit increased 88% to over HKD 2.3 billion. During this period, about 0.8 million sq ft of residential GFA was completed. Contracted sales not yet recognized amounted to HKD 30.4 billion, of which around HKD 20.2 billion is expected to be recognized in the second half of this financial year.
Hong Kong's residential market saw solid activity driven by lower mortgage interest rates and relaxation of mortgage rules in the second half of last year. During the period under review, we achieved about HKD 24.8 billion of contracted sales in Hong Kong. The major contributors are listed in the table here. This map shows our new projects to be launched. There will be a diverse mix of projects to cater to home buyers with different preferences. We will launch YOHO West Parkside in Tin Shui Wai very soon. In the next 10 months, other projects to be launched will include the Sai Sha project near Ma On Shan, mainly Sierra Sea, the new phases of Cullinan Sky and Cullinan Harbour in Kai Tak, the residential project in Kwu Tung, and the phase 3A of NOVO LAND in Tuen Mun.
Furthermore, we will continue to put up for sale the unsold completed residential units and some non-core properties. Now, we move on to our Hong Kong rental portfolio. During the review period, the group's rental portfolio in Hong Kong recorded a slight decrease of 1.4% in gross rental income year on year to about HKD 8.8 billion. Overall, average occupancy remained stable at around 91%. Rental performance of the retail portfolio was resilient, but challenges for office rental remain. The group has adopted a proactive approach to strengthen the competitive edge of our malls. This includes ongoing asset and service enhancement and refining tenant and trade mix to bring novelty to customers. Such efforts helped the group achieve a stable occupancy of around 93%. To enhance shoppers' experience, the group attracts mainland and overseas brands to open their debut stores in our malls across popular districts.
Besides regularly refining the malls' tenant mix and store layouts to enrich their offerings, the group has continued to upgrade and reconfigure its property with enhanced services quality. For example, pet and family-friendly areas are introduced in our malls with additional green and interactive elements. The Point, our integrated loyalty program, enhances shoppers' experience to attract tourists and local customers. Spending by members remained resilient during the period. The Point mobile app was upgraded with a new interface for access to tenant promotions and the latest information based on member spending and preferences. A new VIP program has recently been launched to reward premium members with exclusive privileges, including booking for EV charging. Moving on to our office rental performance. Despite challenges, the group's quality office portfolio achieved an above-average occupancy of about 90%. Our portfolio remained competitive under the flight-to-quality trend.
It differentiated itself with high green building standards and professional property management. We will continue to upgrade our major existing buildings to enhance quality and green standards. In the next two to three years, the group's recurring income base will be further expanded as new investment properties come on stream. They will include the mall beneath the Millennity in Kwun Tong, the high-speed rail terminus development and Artist Square project in West Kowloon, and a commercial complex in Mong Kok. The high-speed rail West Kowloon terminus development offers plenty of greenery and human-centric designs and has recently been named the world's best real estate development in Euromoney's real estate awards. Its office portion, called the International Gateway Centre (IGC), is targeted for handover starting from early 2026. The mall beneath IGC will introduce high-end retail and dining options.
This project, together with the Artist Square Towers project also under construction, will create strong synergy with the well-established ICC cluster. Turning to our property business on the mainland. As at the end of December 2024, the group's total land bank on the mainland was 66.4 million sq ft of attributable GFA, comprising about 21.2 million sq ft of completed properties and 45.2 million sq ft of properties under development. Among the completed properties, 43% of them were shopping centers and 38% were premium offices. On our property development business on the mainland. During the period, the group's recognized property sales on the mainland decreased by 61% year- on- year to about HKD 617 million, mainly due to lower sales volume of residential units. Development profit was also lower at about HKD 181 million, with satisfactory development margin.
As at the end of December 2024, unrecognized contractor sales amount to CNY 12.5 billion. About CNY 7.8 billion will be recognized in the second half of this financial year. During the period, the group achieved a contracted sale of over CNY 660 million on the mainland. Following the end of the review period, the group launched the first batch of the second phase of Lake Genève in Suzhou in January this year, with encouraging sales response. In the next 10 months, four projects with a total attributable GFA of about 930,000 sq ft will be launched. You may refer to the table here for details. As for our mainland rental portfolio. During the period, the group's gross rental income from the mainland rental portfolio decreased by 1.6% year- on- year to about HKD 3.1 billion, or down 1.7% in RMB terms.
The mild decrease was mainly due to a decline in turnover rent of its retail portfolio. A vast majority of projects in our mainland property investment portfolio are premium integrated projects located in core business hubs in first-tier and leading second-tier cities. Tenants enjoy great accessibility to public transportation and complementary amenities within the same complexes. An example would be IFC in Shanghai. Our office portfolio is known for its premium building quality and high green building standards. Occupancy of landmark office buildings in Shanghai remains satisfactory. As for our retail portfolio, it demonstrated resilience through unique positioning and having adopted a proactive approach in enhancing its attractiveness. Major malls maintain high occupancy despite keen competition in the markets.
Replicating the success of Shanghai IFC Mall, Nanjing IFC Mall held its grand opening in July last year and has become a popular shopping destination in Hexi CBD ever since, achieving high occupancy. The mall houses duplex luxury flagships and new concept stores of renowned retailers. A remarkable 30% of shops in the 1 million sq ft malls are debut stores in Nanjing. The mall complements Andaz Nanjing Hexi and the Grade A office towers within the complex. This year, the expected full completion of Three ITC, the final phase of ITC in Shanghai, will mark another milestone of the group's business on the mainland. The Tower A office, which has been completed, achieved a committed occupancy of over 70%. The remaining portion of Three ITC includes the flagship mall ITC Maison, an office skyscraper Tower B, and a hotel Andaz Shanghai ITC.
The mall will bring an innovative retail format and creative concepts, featuring an extensive variety of shops, including high-end retailers and renowned restaurants. Let's turn to our hotel business. During the period, the group's hotel portfolio in Hong Kong maintained high occupancy. Operating profit of the hotel segment dropped 12% year- on- year to HKD 377 million, down from HKD 430 million in the same period last year. The decline was due to increased operating costs and additional costs incurred from new hotels that commenced operations on the mainland. As for new hotel, Andaz Shanghai ITC, part of the integrated project 3ITC, is set to open with over 250 hotel rooms by the end of this year. Moving on to the ESG initiatives.
The group continues to make significant strides towards its 10-year environmental targets and has already achieved its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions for key commercial buildings by 25% ahead of schedule. Building on this progress, a new target has been set to reduce such emissions by 35% by 2029 and 2030. Another highlight is to join hands with joint venture partners in developing Hong Kong's first privately funded solar farm on the landfill in Tseung Kwan O. The project will be completed in 2025, with an annual capacity of generating 1.2 million kWh of green electricity. To encourage the switch to electric vehicles, the group also doubled the number of super-fast EV chargers in its malls. The group is dedicated to enhancing community well-being. In alignment with initiatives to foster a mega event economy, the group organized events to revitalize the tourism and retail sectors.
Highlights include a two-month celebration marking the 40th anniversary of New Town Plaza in Sha Tin and various outdoor events near the group's mall. In January this year, the group celebrated the grand opening of GO PARK Sai Sha, a landmark spanning 1.3 million sq ft. Showcasing both popular and emerging spots, the landmark also housed entertainment, dining, and recreational facilities. For more information about our latest ESG performance, you may refer to the appendix of this PowerPoint or our website. Moving forward, I will discuss the market and business prospects. In Hong Kong, economic growth is expected to be relatively slow due to a multitude of variables affecting the global environment. Lower expectations for U.S. rate cuts will continue to weigh on business sentiment and activity. However, end-user demand for housing will remain solid, supported by reduced mortgage rates and a continued inflow of tenants and students.
For key cities on the mainland, with boosting internal demand being a top priority, further and stronger stimulus policies are expected to help drive domestic consumption. A benign mortgage environment and housing support measures will help restore buyers' confidence, favoring the recovery of the property market over the medium term. On our business prospects. The group will continue to adhere to sound and prudent financial management practices. It will exercise proactive cash flow management with the following aspects. The group will abide by strong cost discipline on CapEx and other costs without compromising quality and services. By adopting an active management approach, it will strengthen recurrent income from property investment portfolio and non-property businesses. It will continue the timely sale of new projects, unsold residential units, and selective non-core properties.
With a sizable portfolio of rental properties under development both in Hong Kong and on the mainland, the group aims to achieve long-term growth in recurrent income. On property investment, the group will sharpen the competitive edge of its portfolio by adopting a proactive leasing approach, which includes carrying out asset enhancement initiatives and maintaining close relationships with tenants and customers. The completion of new developments will create new sources of recurrent income for the group in the next two to three years. Hong Kong projects will include the shopping mall underneath the Millennity in Kwun Tong, Cullinan Sky Mall next to MTR Kai Tak Station, and the High Speed Rail West Kowloon terminus development. In Shanghai, 3ITC will be fully completed this year. On property development, the group will leverage its strong reputation for delivering high-quality properties to achieve high asset turnover.
It will continue to launch new residential projects and put up unsold completed residential projects and some non-core properties on the market for sale. Finally, to conclude my presentation, I would like to share with you this passage from the Chairman's Statement. Over the past half-century, the group's long-standing strengths, including a strong commitment to quality and excellence, customer-centric philosophy, trusted relationships with stakeholders, and flexibility in moving with the times, have helped the group establish an excellent reputation in the market. With its solid financial position, sizable rental income base, strong leadership and execution teams, and time-tested strategies, the group has laid a robust foundation that enables it to navigate effectively through the evolving changes in the property market and the global economy, consolidating its market leadership.
With full confidence in long-term prospects of the mainland and Hong Kong, the group, upholding its belief in building homes with heart, will continue to support the city's advancement by creating iconic landmarks and sustainable communities that prioritize the quality of life for all residents. This is the end of my presentation. Thank you. Thank you for joining us for the question and answer session. So let me first introduce the panel members. Starting from your left, Mr. K.W. Lo, Member of the Executive Committee, Ms. Maureen Fung, Executive Director, Mr. Allen Fung, Executive Director, Mr. Christopher Kwok, Executive Director, Mr. Victor Lui, Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Raymond Kwok, Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Mike Wong, Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Adam Kwok, Executive Director, Mr. Eric Tung, Executive Director, and Mr. Frederick Li, Group Chief Accountant.
So may I now invite our Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Raymond Kwok, to share the key messages of today's results announcements. Mr. Kwok, please.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for attending today's briefing. During the period under review, the group kept up its efforts in delivering premium quality development projects and services despite global economic uncertainties. Backed by our solid financial position, sizable recurrent income, seasoned management, strong and experienced execution teams, and time-tested strategies, the group was able to navigate the ever-changing environment and delivered satisfactory business performance. In Hong Kong, the group's contracted sales amounted to HKD 24.8 billion during the period. Major contributors include The Cullinan Sky Phase 1 in Kai Tak, Victoria Harbour Phase 2B in North Point, the YOHO Hub II in Yuen Long, and the NOVO LAND Phase 3B in Tuen Mun. We also offered units from completed properties such as St. Michel in Sha Tin and Dynasty Court in Mid-Levels Central.
All of them received positive market response. Over the next 10 months, the group plans to launch various new projects in Hong Kong. These are YOHO West Parkside in Tin Shui Wai, the second phase of The Cullinan Harbour, and the second phase of The Cullinan Sky in Kai Tak, the first phase of the Sai Sha development, now named Sierra Sea, NOVO LAND Phase 3A in Tuen Mun, and the first phase of the residential project next to MTR Kwu Tung Station, which is now under construction. Among the upcoming projects, the Sai Sha project has been planned for over 30 years to be developed in phases. This project is scheduled for completion over a number of years. On top of strengthening transportation connections and infrastructure, the group has made use of family and pet-friendly concepts to create a vibrant community that caters to the lifestyles of different generations.
Residents can enjoy the beautiful nature and access the adjacent GO PARK Sai Sha. GO PARK is a landmark sports and commercial complex covering some 1.3 million sq ft. With its grand opening held last month, the complex offers a wide range of experiences, from popular and emerging sports to entertainment to dining and to recreation. We hope it will become Hong Kong's back garden where families can spend their quality time together. Moving on to property investment in Hong Kong, the group's portfolio continues to provide a stable and sizable recurrent income. Overall, occupancy remains satisfactory. In the coming years, the group's recurrent income base will be further strengthened as more investment properties come on stream. These are two shopping malls which will open in phases starting later this year.
One of them is a mall beneath the Millennity in Kwun Tong, and the other one is Cullinan Sky Mall, which is connected and adjoining to the MTR Kai Tak Station. In addition, the Grade A offices atop the high-speed rail West Kowloon terminus, which was named IGC International Gateway Centre, will be handed over to tenants starting early 2026. The group also carried out ongoing enhancements of assets and services to increase the competitiveness of its property investment portfolio. We continue to leverage The Point, which is the integrated loyalty program for Sun Hung Kai malls, to enhance shoppers' experience and attract tourists and local customers. The Point recently launched a VIP program to offer exclusive privileges to our premium members, such as EV charging booking.
For a quick update on property development on the mainland after the review period, the group launched the first phase of the first batch of the second phase of Lake Genève in Suzhou last month. The sales response was very encouraging. In the coming 10 months, the group plans to launch new batches of joint venture developments such as Lake Genève in Suzhou, Hangzhou IFC, and Oriental Bund in Foshan. For property investment on the mainland, the group's gross rental income registered a slight decrease during the period, mainly due to a decline in turnover rent of its retail portfolio. As for projects under development, construction of 3ITC in Shanghai will be fully completed in the second half of this year. This includes a flagship mall, ITC Maison, an office skyscraper Tower B, and a premium hotel, Andaz Shanghai ITC.
The completion of this project will mark a milestone for the group's mainland business. The group also makes use of innovative technologies to enhance building and service quality and also upgrades its existing buildings to meet high green building standards. Such efforts are well recognized by international certifications and rating agencies and put the group's properties in a good position as the flight to quality trend continues. Looking forward, with the unwavering support of the central government, the group believes Hong Kong will continue to leverage the unique advantages of one country, two systems to embrace changes, seize opportunities, and attract more high-caliber talent to Hong Kong.
With full confidence in the long-term prospects of the mainland and of Hong Kong, and upholding its belief in building homes with heart, the group will adhere to prudent financial management practices, maintain a low gearing ratio, and leverage also its diversified investment properties to maintain a stable and sizable recurring income. By exercising strict cost discipline, the group will continue to develop iconic integrated projects and sustainable communities that enhance the quality of life for residents, contributing to the strengthening of Hong Kong's status as an international financial trade and transportation center. So thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Kwok. So now I'll open the floor for questions. So before posing your questions, could you let us know your name and the company you represent? So I'll have that gentleman in the fourth row. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Management. This is Griffin Chan from Citi Property Group. So I have five questions. The first three on Hong Kong. So on the Hong Kong residential market, what are the group expectations for the Hong Kong residential home price? Given we have higher-for-longer interest rates as well as a high level of supply and inventory, so are you concerned about the distressed players in the market will continue to put pricing pressure into the residential market? So this is the first question. The second one is on the contract sales. So will you revise up your Hong Kong property contract sales for this financial year? And what are the upcoming new launch in the second half financial year of 2025? And what is the pricing strategies for the upcoming launch? So how would you balance between the asset turnover as well as on the profit margin?
The third one will be on the residential margin. So what is the profit margin outlook for the property development business in Hong Kong in the coming years? Do you see any impairment required for certain projects? And what will be the margin after the impairment? So the last two will be on China. So basically on the China residential demand. So how do you feel the housing prospects for the residential market in China? So with a lot of supportive policy and measures, what is the impact to our residential project in China? The last one will be on the sales target. So is the group confident to achieve the sales target of HKD 4 billion in the financial year of 2025? What are the sales resources available? And what are the major new launch? Thank you.
Yes, I answered the question on the Hong Kong market. Although the U.S. interest rate remained unchanged recently, I think the trend of lower mortgage rates will continue in this year. In this month, we know that there's a leading bank also offering a fixed-rate mortgage of around 3%. This is also pointing to a reducing borrowing cost in the residential market later this year. Backed by the influx of talents and students, we have seen the rental market have been very robust after the Chinese New Year. I think this will also induce more renters and investors entering into the market. On the luxury side, the sentiment also improved due to the strong momentum of the stock market recently. I think there will be more transactions in this quarter and the next quarter. I think most of the developers are having their pricing strategy according to their financial position.
Recently, we have seen some players launching their projects at a slightly discounted price. But we are happy to see that all the projects are well received and having a speedy sales. I think this is also beneficial to the sentiment too. On our pricing strategy, you may know that we are always striking a balance between volume and margin. And normally, for our mass project, we are aiming for a quicker turnover. And for the luxury project, which is normally difficult to replace, we are going to dispose of units at our pace. But having said that, we have sold quite a large number of units in Dynasty Court, our investment property, and also Victoria Harbour. I think there will be more eye-catching transactions when we market our two-category projects later this year.
In the next 10 months, we should have a number of projects to be launched, namely the YOHO West Parkside, followed by our two-category project, Cullinan Sky, Cullinan Harbour. And also in the second quarter, that would be our Sai Sha project, which is named Sierra Sea. And in the second half of this year, that would be Phase 3A of NOVO LAND. And finally, and also our Kwu Tung project next to the MTR station at the end of the year. So again, you can see we have sufficient market resources on hand in this year. We have also made a small impairment for our project, Cullinan Sky. But actually, we have more premium units to be sold in the second phase. And we are confident that we can achieve a high unit price that will enable us to write back some profit later this year.
We must admit that due to the market condition, our profit margin has been quite affected for our mass project. But we are happy to see that we have disposed of a large number of Dynasty Court and also Victoria Harbour, which can produce handsome profit for us. Thank you.
On the mainland, Adam, do you want them to repeat the question?
I recorded it. Okay. Thanks. I think in the mainland property market, I think there's the macro aspect and the micro aspect. I think the micro aspect is you see polarization now of developers. The SOEs, the China Overseas, the Poly, and the quality private developers like ourselves, Greentown, and a few others have been selling actually quite well in 2024. Whereas the smaller private developers in financial troubles are not selling that well, and you see year-over-year decline again and again.
And so I think we see that polarization. And thankfully, our projects have been selling well by large. And then the second polarization I see is in locations. I think the ones that are really selling well are Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and also in the prime locations. And you see a further polarization in buyers in choosing that. So thankfully, most of our projects like Hangzhou, like Suzhou, like Shanghai, which we're delivering handover in one or two months' time, have all sold very well. Our Guangzhou or Foshan project is also selling steadily. So I think in terms of the micro aspect, we're benefiting from these polarization trends. Macro aspect, as we all know, Beijing has said real estate has to stop falling and stabilize.
We all know when the central government has said that and the local government are really treating this as a KPI and coming up with policies. You see each city has their own policies towards boosting growth and also even buying back inventory and so on. So I think January data also in the official China data, you see more cities now rising in prices. So I think overall that's encouraging on the macro side as well. Finally, on our target, our target is just HKD 4 billion. We've achieved HKD 2.1 billion up to today, including our Lake Genève phase launch. As you know, we will launch Lake Genève in Suzhou in the next two months, the new phase. We expect that to have overwhelming demand. In fact, we're always surprised the bigger the houses are, the more popular and demandable it seems to get.
Of course, Hangzhou IFC, our service apartment, will for sale in the second quarter, as well as some projects in Guangzhou and Foshan. So I think we're confident meeting the remaining HKD 1.5 billion.
Thank you.
So thank you. So could I have the second question? So the gentleman in the fourth row.
Thank you very much. This is K arl Chan from JP Morgan. So I have five questions as well. My first two questions are about mainland China retail. So I guess in the past year, the market has been quite worried about the luxury retail in mainland China. So just curious, in the fourth quarter of last year as well as the first quarter of this year, do we see a slowdown in luxury retail sales in our mainland China shopping malls? Or do we see some improvement?
Or do you expect that the downward trend may continue for the rest of the year? And then speaking on rental reversion, what did we see in the first half of the financial year of 2025? And what's our expectation for the rental reversion in our shopping malls in Mainland China for the rest of 2025? So that's my two questions on Mainland China retail. And then my third question is more about risk management. Because recently, we saw from a lot of news headlines that there are rising concerns on the liquidity of some other Hong Kong developers. So from your perspective, do you expect any impact on Sun Hung Kai on the accessibility of bank loans or banks' interest rate spread? What would you do to mitigate the potential spillover impact if there is any significant first credit events in the sector?
That would be my third question about risk management. My fourth question is about dividend. Because I think we have been adhering to a dividend policy of around 40%-50% payout based on earnings, right? Then going forward, we understand that there may be lumpy earnings because of the DP booking. We're just curious if we might ever consider changing the dividend policy. Because some other peers are now paying dividend based on rental income. Just curious if we might consider changing into that policy in dividend. That's my fourth question. My last question is very simple. Do you see any risk of further Cap Rate expansion on our investment properties? Thank you very much.
Yeah, I think I'll take the question on the mainland luxury retail market.
So, I think 2024 started off a slow year, which definitely we see a slowdown. But I think things have started to improve in last quarter, quarter four of 2024. In fact, for our Shanghai malls, we just saw that the January numbers have returned to growth from the year before. So that's encouraging. And I think the way we see the market is that riding on similar to what the government, the mainland Chinese government has announced on the real estate side of the market, I think they're quite determined to also stimulate domestic consumption, to attract more foreign tourists to visit China. And so we're definitely seeing kind of also each city doing more to, for example, using consumption coupons or else kind of being more proactive in introducing brands and getting in touch with us developers, right? And introducing brands to open shop in the city.
That's, I think, a positive trend that we think will take place for the rest of the year. On the other hand, in terms of our relationship with brands, I think luxury brands right now, they're still quite cautious and quite selective in how they expand in the expansion plans. They have a tendency to focus on expanding on projects that are doing well. For example, our Shanghai IFC Mall, which is our flagship in Shanghai, we have strong demand from existing and also new luxury tenants to either expand the existing stores or to open new flagship stores. Management has already decided to proceed with a plan to convert some of the hotel space into retail area starting this year. We believe that that will give us another uptake in terms of the retail sales in our portfolio.
I think going forward, I think we'll continue to build strong ties with our tenants. We'll also make use of our VIC programs in mainland China to stay competitive. For rental reversion, we saw a mild positive rental reversion last year despite the headline numbers on sales. I think we expect that to continue in 2025.
For us, we have been in Shanghai for over 20 years. We've got a very good support and strategic partnership relationship with all the important partners like the LVMH Group, all the big groups. We talked to the Paris headquarters and made sure that we can adjust all our mix according to the global trend. As you know, all the global luxury retail disruptive.
But in China, we are very confident that we will be with the upper hand to make sure that the sales will be happening in our mall. You can see the support in our Nanjing IFC mall just opened and is almost fully let. And also the sales are picked up very fast. So despite the market, we are seeing many challenges ahead. We do believe that we will work hand in hand with them to create a good ambiance to ensure that the VIC people come to our mall to spend and to build up the relationship and improve the stickiness. So we are now doing the ITC Maison also. And the response is encouraging. So it takes time for us to make sure that our hardware can cater to the future of consumption in China and also global business.
As many of our Chinese people do go overseas, they have some expectation on why they spend locally in China. And also we cope with the government policy to make sure that we are in the right direction before we hand over all apartments to them. So thank you.
On the other three questions on the risk management side, I think we are selling our apartments well in Hong Kong and on the mainland. And also we have a very sizable recurring and stable recurring income. And our gearing is coming down. It is about 17%- 18% loan to equity. And now we are able to maintain the S&P, the high rating. So therefore, I think we are very comfortable. And in fact, we have a lot of undrawn bank lines. Therefore, we are very comfortable.
On your point about dividend policy, I think we have said that dividend policy would be we would be paying 40%-50% of the earnings per share, and I think we are going to maintain that policy. In fact, last year, I think 2023, 2024, we were almost the first one to cut the dividend, so anyway, I think we're going to maintain the dividend policy to pay 40%-50% of the earnings per share. On the cap rate expansion, I think it's unlikely now because I think interest rates are gradually coming down. For the U.S. 10-year treasuries, it has now gone down to 4.2%. On the mainland, the interest rate is very low now. So I think it's unlikely that the cap rate will be further expanding. Thank you.
Thank you, so could I have the third question? Or could the gentleman in the second row, please?
Thank you, management. This is Mark Leung from UBS. I have three questions regarding Hong Kong retail office and gearing. For Hong Kong retail first, could management share about our outlook for 2025? What's the tenant sales year to date? What reversion we achieved? Rental sales ratio and our strategy to drive our tenant sales and rental income. I think that's the first questions. And then the second question is regarding the Hong Kong office. Same as retail, could management share about the outlook, reversion trend as well? And specifically for IGC, besides from UBS, could management share about the latest pre-leasing situation, our tenant mix target, and strategy for the IGC leasing? Last but not least, on the gearing side, what's the management outlook for the net gearing and also the funding cost? Thank you.
Sure. I think for 2024 was a slow year for the Hong Kong retail market. But I think similar to mainland China, we see a slight improvement towards the fourth quarter of last year. And I think particularly in January, the visitation numbers of tourists is definitely up and showing the impact of the implementation of the multiple entry visa for residents from Shenzhen. And I think for the general view, I think we have for 2025 is, I think, cautiously optimistic. I think there are some policy tailwinds coming from, and new developments coming from the upcoming Kai Tak Sports Park. I think that will bring in more tourists through organizing summits, exhibitions, conventions. I think it will enhance Hong Kong's position to be a premier destination for mega events.
We also are hopeful that the government will fight for more cities to be included into the multiple entry visa scheme. Those should be helpful. For ourselves, we will also definitely work hard to strengthen our malls' competitiveness. As Chairman mentioned just now, I think there are a few aspects on this one. It's the trade mix side. We will continue to introduce more pet-friendly facilities and also bring in brands such as kind of mainland-based F&B brands to Hong Kong. I think they're still quite proactive in expanding. On the other hand, I think we will also continue to upgrade our facilities. For example, the Chill Park at New Town Plaza is a brand new space that opened in September of last year.
Then on the other hand, I think on the software side, we will continue to make use of our loyalty program, which we have just reached the 3 million members mark. We also continue to grow our active member base. We're trying to also expand the linkage between The Point and the rest of Sun Hung Kai Properties' businesses. For example, our supermarket business and our telecoms business, to increase the stickiness of loyal customers who have proven to be more resilient even at times of uncertainty. Finally, we will also continue to invest in new properties. For example, again, as Chairman mentioned earlier, the shopping mall beneath The Millennity project in Kwun Tong, and then the Cullinan Sky mall in Kai Tak, and further down the road is the High Speed Rail shopping mall project. These should further strengthen our recurring income base going forward.
At one point, the economic market situation's prevailing is very challenging. But we've got a very strong professional team on executions. At the same time, we are working in China. So the holistic environment and also the global changes, we can have some insight to enforce some initiative and marketing campaigns that we can do better and faster. So thank you for last year, the pandemic economy, and then we come up to the visitor scheme and the tourism boom. And at the same time, a lot of good news coming to Hong Kong. So by the end of last year, fourth quarter, we do feel the pulse, the market sentiments become warmer, and also the sales picking up good. Starting spring year this year, many mega events on the right path.
Together with all the mega events coming, we do believe that coming is the retail market is very resilient. We are very confident to make sure that the sales will be on the right path.
All right. Thank you. On the Hong Kong office market outlook, it is still under a bit of pressure these days given the backdrop of a very sluggish or rather sluggish economy and also soft demand for office space at the moment. We think that the market will continue for a bit of time in the situation that we are facing. We still see vacancies going up a bit in various districts in Hong Kong. This, of course, will have pressure on the rent. The good news is we see the increase, the magnitude of the increase of the vacancy is coming down, is shrinking.
And we also have seen stronger demand for space coming back. People are now considering taking on more projects in terms of expansion or restructuring the business in order to pave the way going into the future. So the demand is coming back. That's what we have seen in the last few months, but gradually. So in the short term, the rent will still be under pressure. But in the medium term, we think the outlook is getting better. And on the marketing of our IGC project in West Kowloon, we are talking to many potential prospects. Most of them are from the financial service sector. They include asset managers, and I think in particular, wealth management companies, big and small. I think they all see West Kowloon as a perfect location.
They want to be in that location simply because of the excellent transport connectivity to the southern part and into other cities in the mainland as well. Also, the fact that West Kowloon has become the destination in Hong Kong for future businesses. We got the cultural district, which is very unique in Hong Kong. It is the combination of that. You are next to the water. Then you have brand new and also world-class with green initiatives, new buildings, premium quality design, and also a very professional and exceptional property management service to be provided in our new projects. Of course, the success of ICC in West Kowloon offers the business community a strong confidence about not only, of course, Sun Hung Kai, but also the area, meaning West Kowloon. We see the momentum is building up in terms of leasing of IGC project.
It is a big one, but then we see demand coming from big and small, smaller-sized occupants, so now we are getting close to the completion of the project, end of the year this year, and we're going to hand over space starting from January next year to tenants. So we see more and more interest will come as we are closer to the completion of the project, which this used to be the case in the past, so we are very confident about the leasing of remaining spaces in the project.
I think Gary's team will work very hard to continue to maintain kind of high green building standards and good quality of the project itself and also the property management services.
I think another thing that we can point out is recently we have also increased the ties between Hong Kong office and mainland office teams because we feel that there's an increasing demand from kind of companies based in mainland China but wanting to go overseas using Hong Kong as a midway stop. So I think we will enhance the intelligence sharing and gathering on that front so that sometimes there are companies who are also tenants from Shanghai who also recruit them to Hong Kong and in a way to keep them within the Sun Hung Kai SHKP portfolio.
Also, I'd like to add on the office side, the stock market in China for these technology shares have gone up a lot. So therefore, the mainland has a very vibrant appreciation of technology shares.
In addition, the Hong Kong government has really pushed for more IPOs in Hong Kong. So therefore, there will be more IPOs in Hong Kong. So therefore, the office sector, there will be more demand. And furthermore, every bank wants to expand on the wealth management side. Unfortunately, they may not expand on the investment banking side, but wealth management. Every bank is interested to take on the low-risk wealth management business. And we believe West Kowloon is a perfect area because I think, okay, you can arrive on the best city center using high-speed railway, and you can go to the museum, you can walk around the West Kowloon Park, and then you can go to Tsim Sha Tsui to go shopping. We have done a survey that the most popular area for shopping is still the Tsim Sha Tsui area.
Go to Harbour City, go to the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui. So the best hotels are all in that district. Of course, we also have to take into account the offices in Hong Kong. But anyway, there are more five-star hotels on the Kowloon side in Hong Kong. So we think more wealth, as the technology guys are getting more wealthy. I think the wealth management business would continue to, well, would thrive in Hong Kong. On your question about the gearing, I think we are comfortable with the gearing now because I think we are selling our apartments now. I think we are confident that we can sell more apartments. And also our leverage is, well, below 20%. And the rating agency has given us a good rating. So we are very comfortable.
So in a way, as long as we can sell our apartments, we'll keep on buying more land as long as we can keep on selling our apartments. On the earlier question about the cost of debt, ours is 4%. Right? Right. Yes. Because they knew that we have borrowed the fixed rate and we have borrowed all of our RMB money. So the cost of debt is now 4%.
So thank you. So could I have another question? The gentleman in the second seat on the third row.
Good afternoon, management. This is Raymond Liu from HSBC. I got four questions. The first question is about land bank. So what is the latest land bank plan in Hong Kong? Do you change the margin requirement when we evaluate the land acquisition recently?
And the second question is about Sierra Sea , the Sai Sha project, which is one of the largest development projects in the next few years. So can management share with us more about the timing of launch and how to reposition on this project? Because management also mentioned about the work, like holiday homes, these kind of things. So what would we expect the margin for this project as well? Can management share some more color on this? The third question will be about capital recycling. So would management consider some capital recycling activities from your investment properties or some more non-core asset disposal so that you can accelerate the leveraging process? And the last question, it will be related to mainland China property. So do you see any risk of impairments in your mainland China projects?
Now, with more supportive policy measures in mainland China, will you consider to acquire some more commercial projects or other residential projects in the coming future? Thank you.
Okay. Yeah. I'll answer the question on acquisition and Sierra Sea. On acquisitions, we are very happy that we can acquire three sites in recent months, the Siu Lek Yuen site and also the Tai Wai site, which are in very mature communities and very close to the MTR station. And lately, in last week, the Tung Chung site, which is abutting the sea with panoramic sea view. And for this site, the government also relaxed the number of units so that will enhance the future flexibility and marketability of the project.
Apart from government tenders, we shall continue to negotiate with government on land premium and also land exchange and continue to adhere to our very prudent financial discipline as we have done in the past. Our Sai Sha project is now named Sierra Sea. This is a very unique project blending with leisure and beautiful environment and also under very convenient transport link. The GO PARK Sai Sha also provides very comprehensive sports facility for families of all ages. Sai Sha or Sierra Sea is a big project that we are going to develop, market, and manage in many phases. I think it is a bit too early to project the profit margin, but we are confident that this project will appreciate in value over time that will support our pricing strategy in the later phases.
Actually, in the past, we have very extensive experience on developing a large-scale project like Park Island, Yuen Long some 25 years ago, and also in recent years, the YOHO series, and also lately, the YOHO Land project. For Sai Sha, the first phase, the phase 1A, comprising 800 units, will be launched next month, which we are confident that it will be the talk of the town later in the next month. Thank you.
I think, in fact, for Sai Sha, I think I would suggest all of you to go and have a look. Bring your parents, bring your pets, bring your children, three generations. You can stay there for the whole day because the children would play all this sort of the climbing city games. You can walk to hiking for four hours.
You can even hike for eight hours if you want, but I don't advise you to do that. But whereas your grandparents can enjoy their time looking after your children. But on the mainland, write-down. Adam, do you need to write-down on the mainland?
Lately, we've checked the location . Thankfully, the land we bought obviously is still at a pretty defensible cost. So we don't foresee any write-down so far. And then in terms of I think somebody was talking about buying up opportunities. I think right now we're really just focused on executing mostly our commercial projects well in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and then selling also some of our residential to beat our target and get the cash flow going.
And so I think, especially if you actually look at our completion from this year, end of 2024, the next 2.5 years, 2.5 years up to 2027 June, our IP land bank, complete IP land bank, is going to grow from 19 million sq ft to grow another 10 million sq ft to 29 million sq ft. And most of that will be in Shanghai. And a lot of that is going to get OP by this year. So executing it, leasing it up is going to be our most focus.
Yeah. I think on the mainland, residential properties, I think we are lucky that almost all our projects are in tier one cities. And as you all know, in tier one cities, there's no need to write down. A lot of other mainland developers, unfortunately, they have moved into tier two, tier three.
So clearly, most of the Mainland young people prefer to work and stay in the tier one cities. Oh, and we haven't bought if you look at people writing down, they're usually the ones who bought in 2020, 2021, 2022. And thankfully, we haven't touched much during then.
Okay. So could I have the last question? So the gentleman in the third row on that side?
Hi. Karl Choi from Bank of America. I have three questions. First is about the Northern Metropolis development in Hong Kong. I just wanted to ask about Sun Hung Kai's interest in participating in the development, especially the large-scale, the three large-scale land disposal pilots of [Foreign language] . And what kind of development margins would you require in order to participate given the fact that the development timeline could be quite long?
And second is for farmland resumption income, you mentioned HKD 3 billion in the first half. Can you give us some sense for the second half and also into fiscal 2026? What kind of farmland resumption income would you expect? And then thirdly, just to go back to China IP a bit for the new project coming up, especially for Hangzhou and also ITC Maison, can you give us a little bit of an update on the pre-leasing progress? And particularly for ITC Maison, as mentioned, luxury retailers are cautious. So what's the positioning of the mall? How can you stand out from your competition? How can you convince the luxury retailers to open at your mall? Thanks.
Yeah. Mike.
And I'll deal with your first two questions. On the question of Northern Metropolis, indeed, Northern Metropolis is a grand plan promulgated by the current government term.
It's a multi-year grant program covering one-third of the land area of the whole territory. And it's going to promote more to house more population, more economic activities, particularly the new technology and integration with the Mainland China and GBA. And obviously, we welcome the government initiative and effort to implement this to help the growth of Hong Kong. Secondly, we have a very long history to work in NT, particularly in this NM Northern Metropolis area, such as Grand YOHO projects, Park YOHO projects in the past, alongside with the ongoing two projects, one in Tung Shing Lei, which is a plot of land next to YOHO Mall, very close, about five-to-eight minutes walk. And another project that Mr. Lui mentioned earlier on is the Kwu Tung project next to the project next to, actually, adjacent to the MTR station, which is due to complete by the year 2027.
These two projects are actually under construction, having a GFA about 1.8 million sq ft.
Thirdly, while we continue to monitor, to review, in fact, the three parcels of land currently contemplated by government is still under consultation period. By the end of March, we will submit our views. Through various means, we're actually feeding back our comments to government to try to make it work and to help the development of the Northern Metropolis. But however, we will take a very prudent view after seeing what will be the tender condition, which after the end of consultation, they said they will gradually roll out these three parcels of land for tender probably by the end of the year. On the subject of farmland compensation, indeed, we do have some parcels of land have been taken over by government.
During this period, I mean, this financial year, we have area in that area returned by government, they will probably expect a compensation about HKD 3 billion, about HKD 3 billion. The corresponding gain is about HKD 1.1 billion. Probably you have noticed in the previous year, we have recognized in the last financial year for a gain of HKD 1.1 billion out of the total HKD 1.9 billion compensation. Frankly, we are not sure how the resumption program for other areas in Northern Metropolis, which is yet to be announced. We are waiting what government will try the timeline to implement the development of these major tender pool areas in NM. Thank you.
I think for the Shanghai, ITC, and Hangzhou project, I think for ITC, it is our biggest undertaking of a single mall ever in mainland China.
I think the way we so far, I think leasing has progressed very well. We are going to open the first phase towards at the later part of this year. It's 150,000 sq ft of F&B zone that is primarily to serve the dining needs of our office worker. It's going to be a lifestyle zone. I think the way in a broader picture, the way we see ITC mall is it's going to be a combination of IFC mall and our IAPM mall in Shanghai. The size is about the two combined. If you've ever been to the area, the ITC Maison mall is actually the final phase of a number of other retail properties that we've developed in the recent years.
There's one nearby called ITC One Mall, which is a boutique mall that's already open and doing very well with a good collection of luxury stores, cosmetic brands, and also FNB with Black Pearl recognition. I think that has opened to good market feedback. I think riding on the success of that, we have always positioned that mall as a showcase, as a preview of what is to come on ITC Maison mall. I think riding on the initial success, I think brands will have more confidence in coming to the ITC project. I think one of the ways and so that will give us a good starting position. Indeed, we have a lot of inquiries from various luxury brands to set up their global flagship stores in Shanghai, the global flagship store in the whole Shanghai.
Another thing I think we do we stand out is kind of engaging the brands very early to customize their store space for them, whether it's the facade or the internal layout circulation. Our project teams and leasing teams work very closely together. That's the Sun Hung Kai value added, I would say. Then for Hangzhou, I think. Hangzhou. We have started to market the retail portion of the project. Again, I think brands are also quite excited because a few things I think are going well for that project. One is the residential portion has sold out within a day. They're all one-day fully sold projects. Those themselves, the residential portion itself will already bring in some affluent, high-spending, captive customers to the mall. I think second of all, the project itself is quite unique.
It's the only project in the center of Hangzhou with two MTR lines and also that's adjacent to both the canal and the Qiantang River. If any of you know, the Qiantang River is something that's very. It's like the Victoria Harbour for us in Hong Kong. The locals see it as a very prime location. Further, I think the government is also very invested in that project as well. They have plans to build out a Ferris wheel and some museums nearby. It's not just your typical shopping mall. It's an integrated project with also some arts and culture elements, a bit similar to the West Kowloon setup in Hong Kong. That is another factor. Then I think third is, I mean, I think recently, DeepSeek and a lot of AI companies are actually based in Shanghai, based in Hangzhou.
These are now the darlings of both the stock market and also country leadership. I think they'll be wealth created, and new wealth created will be there to support the growth of the luxury market in Hangzhou.
Echoing our group-built IFC project, benchmarking on a global basis for the past three decades, we built a Hong Kong IFC mall and bring up the successful DNA up to China, build up our first flagship mall, Shanghai IFC Mall, and mirror the success again to Nanjing. You see our product. Its uniqueness is the locations, hardware, excellent hardware appealing to our elite customers and also our luxury partners. Most important is also the infrastructure. Make sure that this rule from this very important element we bring along to Shanghai ITC Maison. Most important, we have been on the ground for the past 20 years.
We got the data, and also, we have the excellent team on the ground to understand the market and also talk to our partners to work closely together. Truly, the execution, the success of the IP project in China, most difficult is the commitment. Thanks to the board empowerment, the whole team have the commitment to execute and deliver commitments to all partners and build up the trust, so the coming ITC Maison, we do revise the hardware to be more appealing to the latest design and appealing to all the global partners. They are very because the market is tough and then we turn the crisis into opportunity to make sure that they are the winners in the outcome and ensure the sales deliver. Bringing in all this philosophy and also a mechanism, we revise on a daily basis, and then we plan our Hangzhou IFC ahead.
Building the latest [favorite] in China, the independent board and Sun Hung Kai, the local people, young people. Hangzhou is a first-tier city. The young people from all the country have high expectations. We take a little bit of time to refine all the infrastructures and also the market positioning to make sure that it's appealing. The most iconic landmark IFC, latest IFC in China, and also making use of the technology. That city is, we say, for the luxury people. They say there is a cash cow in Shanghai and in Hangzhou. There is a new type of customer that will project a future consumption in China. It's super important for us. We have the well-teamed, well-grouped team, well-planned all the way up to make sure that it will be workable and sustainable in the future. Thank you.
This concludes today's analyst briefing. Thanks all for coming. We have some refreshments outside. Please enjoy.